


Revelation

by Seajellybaby



Series: The LA Series [12]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:47:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22668013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seajellybaby/pseuds/Seajellybaby
Summary: Slightly edited Oct 2020
Relationships: Noah Mayer/Luke Snyder
Series: The LA Series [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601257





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The LA Series is my attempt to continue the Luke and Noah story from the finale onward. I have tried to keep as true to the original show as possible. I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Revelation is marked as explicit and contains violence. Best to avoid if easily triggered.
> 
> Slightly edited Sept2020

_Heavy. That's how he felt; lead-head. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t seem to lift it. His stomach turned at the distinct smell of dried vomit wafting up his nostrils. He couldn’t open his eyes either… a warm bright light shone on his face, blinding him._

_Eventually he squinted one-eyed, ignoring the protest from his brain... realized he was lying in a pool of sunlight streaming through a nearby window. He was also lying inches from a puddle of sick; spread-eagled on his stomach on the floor… completely naked._

_“What…” he tried to speak; his mouth too dry. Bile rose up... he sputtered, which did nothing to ease the pounding in his head._

***

“Luke,” Noah yelled through the house; rushed through the front door. “I’m here, are you ready? I’m so fucking late and the cab will…”

All thought flew from his mind; legs turning to jelly; as Luke wondered into the sitting room, dashingly dressed in a black tuxedo, elegantly offset with a white shirt collar and powder grey waistcoat. There was a long stretch of time where Noah stood staring... completely speechless.

“Are you going to stand there with your tongue hanging out all night, or are you going to shower and change for your big event?”

Luke’s suave smile left Noah weak at the knees. He couldn’t help but hurry over to grab at the man, eyes scanning every inch of him. “You look… Wow!”

He bent Luke slightly back; kissed him intensely on the lips; came up for air to say, “You have got to be the most sexy James Bond on the planet,” before pushing him back up against the wall, one hand sneaking under the open jacket to find the warm hollow of his lower back. The other found Luke’s hand; gripped it to the wall. “How the hell do you expect me to concentrate all night, with you looking like this?”

The temperature of the room hit level highs; Noah on the verge of losing himself entirely in the stylish gentleman before him, when said gentleman wriggled from his grasp to say, “Noah? Time?”

Noah snapped out of it enough to remember he was already late. “Right! Yes! Damn! Okay!” He stole one more quick kiss, before rushing off toward the bedroom, Luke smiling after him.

***

 _Moving hurt. Breathing hurt. Hell, just thinking hurt. It was hours before he even allowed himself the use of a few brain cells to wonder where he was. Slowly... tentatively... he rolled over on his back; stared up at the ceiling. The swirling patterns confirmed this was definitely not his apartment._ _He tried to remember the night before, but his mind drew a complete blank. He remembered returning home, and then… he was… he thought about…_

_Luke…_

_The bile turned to vomit; his heart shook in his chest. Something was different._

***

The cast and crew of Noah’s movie filled up half the restaurant Melanie had booked for the wrap party; paid for by one of Noah's most ardent supporters. The wealthy doctor who happened to be a friend of Jude Law, had seen Noah's script and potential... had in essence turned Noah's student film into the real deal.

Women moved among the tuxedos in a magnificent swirl of dark and light, cotton and silk; and amicable conversation blended together with the subtle rock tunes being played throughout. The mood was one of good humor and relief that filming was finally completed. As Luke and Noah approached the group, everybody erupted in a loud round of applause, shouting their congratulations, while several individuals stepped forward to slap Noah fondly on his back.

Holding Luke’s hand, Noah smiled gratefully at them all. He introduced Luke to Dr. Wall, said a few words of private thanks for all his amazing supporters; finally held up his other hand to ask for quiet. “Can I have your attention please?” He waited a few minutes for further quiet; then said, “Welcome everyone, to this evening that we thought might never come.”

A few light laughs of agreement could be heard in the crowd.

“What a bitter-sweet occasion this is because, as we celebrate filming our final scenes, we must also say goodbye to many of our actors and crew. But they leave us in good shape, having helped lay the very foundations that will assist in making this film a success.”

There was an appreciative murmur of agreement from the crowd, many of whom began to tear at Noah’s words.

“We have become more than just a place of work. We’re a family… a community... and together we have managed to deal with all the slings and arrows that have assailed us during this whole process. It has been an honor to work with each and every one of you. Making this film has been a dream of mine my whole life, and I could never find the words that would even begin to describe my gratitude to you for giving me the chance. As well as thanking you, I’d just like to take a moment to thank this person standing on my right…” Noah looked directly at a shocked Luke. “Luke, thank you so much for just being here... And only you know what that _really_ means...” Noah swallowed; spent time simply staring at him.

Luke recovered; smiled tenderly at him.

“So,” Noah's attention returned to the people around them as he cleared his throat, “although we say goodbye to many of you tonight, we look forward to being reunited at the premier. I hope you all have a fantastic time tonight! Thank you to Dr. Wall for all he's done, not just for funding tonight's events, but for supporting me... supporting all of us... from start to finish. Thank you! Now go and party!"

Dr. Wall tipped his Champaign flute at Noah. The round of applause was deafening. Luke could hardly contain the pride he had for Noah; the man who had come such a long way from the word-shy boy Luke met years ago, in a small television studio in Illinois.

***

_He was drinking in the bar. He remembered the lights that hung in a row above the barman. He remembered the barman. He remembered a row of shots._

So this is what a real hangover feels like?

_Wow, it was bad! He couldn’t believe there were people that did this on a regular basis. He'd been drunk before, but never like this; never been the typical frat boy type. And of course, when he was with Luke…_

_There it was again! One word to knife him right in the chest every time! God, but it hurt. He spent a few moments pushing the feelings back down deep inside of him, hoping that this time, maybe they might stay there…_

***

Of course Noah was the most popular guy in the room; everybody wanted a moment with him. To his credit, Noah tried as much as he could to involve Luke in the many conversations, but eventually Luke decided to take a wander around on his own. He met and spoke with a few of Noah’s work colleagues, gaining insight into Noah’s life over the past year. He felt sad as he began to realize just how much of it he'd missed out on.

Just as he was musing on this, he felt two long arms hug his waist from behind; move him side-to-side in time with the music. A smooth, deep voice whispered in his ear, “Want to dance?”

“With you? Always…” he turned into Noah’s arms, his belly rocking with flutters. He stared up into the deep blue sea of Noah’s eyes, so filled with wonder and love for him. Yes! For _him_! Noah Mayor loved Luke Snyder. The thought brought a huge smile across his lips, as they swayed slowly together. “Have I told you lately how absolutely in love with you I am?” 

“Yes, but you can tell me some more...”

“You’re so amazing, you know? I’m _so_ proud of you!”

Noah’s eyes were wet when he said, “I meant it… I’m so grateful that you’re here. That you gave me another chance? I feel like I’m just the most blessed person in the world.” They both leaned into the kiss, Luke feeling Noah smile as they did so. Noah’s tongue touched his mouth in delicate invitation; Luke bit his lower lip gently, in answer. “Do you think you can stay awake tonight?”

“As long as it takes,” Luke assured him, “but hurry, okay?”

Noah flashed Luke the most incredible smile as he walked off... stunning in his tuxedo... to complete his rounds. Luke felt his core shake with excitement for what was to come when they finally made it home that night.

***

_He sat up carefully; rested his forehead on his knees. He hugged them in for awhile, waiting for the wave of pain in his head to subside enough for him to make his next big movement. His entire body ached. Every part of him. He almost laughed at what a physical and emotional wreck he'd become. It was almost funny._

That will teach you for opening up Mayor! That will teach you for thinking you could love Lu…

 _And again the crunching pain in his gut!_ _As a distraction he looked around at the strange living room, “Where am I?”_

***

The crowd had thinned out, but not by enough to allow Noah the opportunity to leave. By midnight Luke was really starting to feel it. His day at Grimaldi Shipping was a harsh one. He was still trying to pick up on the ins-and-outs of the LA style work environment, so different from Oakdale. He kept trying to stop yawns from escaping his mouth. Not wanting Noah’s workmates to think he was bored, he eventually decided to head outside for some fresh night air.

It happened as he walked through the bar area of the restaurant. To say that his heart hammered in his ears was an understatement for what he felt at that moment! The sight before him burned a hole through his retinas. He felt a strange prickle at the roots of his hair. He immediately... desperately... tried to find another explanation for what he was seeing, but he could only come to one agonizing conclusion. Within seconds his body turned ice -cold; he had a moment of rising panic, leaving him buffeted by a strong emotion he’d never felt before, one he never wanted to feel ever again.

He was only faintly aware of the young man who brushed past him on his way back to the bar, but by some grace Luke still had enough awareness about him to block the boy's path; whisper the terrible information into his ear. The boy stared at him... seeing truth; walked back the way he came.

Luke jumped as Noah came up from behind him and laughed. “Sorry! I really should stop doing that to you! Are you ready to go home?”

Luke wanted to speak. He knew he should. He wanted to say, “Yes, let’s go home.” He wanted to forget what he saw. What he knew. He wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, before he made a scene. But he was glued.

A young woman distracted Noah with words of departure. Noah was too busy passing pleasantries to notice Luke’s demeanor, but just in that moment Oliver stepped forward to say, “Hi Noah. Sorry to interrupt. I didn’t want to leave without saying congrats… You deserve it! You’ve worked really hard on this.”

Noah turned to him; smiled; placed his arm around Luke’s shoulder. “Thanks Oliver... um... it’s really kind of you.” Remembering himself, he said, “Oh sorry, This is my boyfriend, Luke.”

“Hi Luke, nice to meet you.” Oliver smiled like a shark; held out a sweaty hand for Luke to shake. Luke stood frozen, glaring at him; unresponsive. There was a confused silence between the three men; noticed by many who were in close enough proximity... Luke so blatantly blanking Oliver's gesture.

“Luke?” Noah said in an expectant, drawn-out tone that demanded a reaction… that demanded he shake the man’s hand immediately.

But Luke didn’t move. He couldn’t.

“Um…” Oliver said into the awkward silence; lowered his hand. People around them stared and whispered among themselves. “Um... Anyway Noah, like I said… ah… congrats!” He walked away from them.

Luke didn't react as Noah grabbed his elbow; dragged him through the curious eyes of his work colleagues; entered the privacy of the men’s room. All Luke could hear was the loud and awful click his brain made, the moment that giant puzzle piece... the missing piece... fell in slow-motion from the sky, to fit mockingly into place… suddenly revealing every horrific detail… suddenly making everything so sickeningly clear.

He had the sense that Noah was angry with him... was yelling at him... but he couldn’t hear a word. His mind was utterly jammed like a broken record, on what he had seen only a few moments before. The blood roared in his ears. He could feel his entire body slowly covering in a thin veil of sweat. He struggled to breathe; thinking maybe he should sit down before he fell. But he felt immovable. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Noah; too angry to notice Luke's trauma. Luke's gaze followed Noah around the room as the man furiously gesticulated at him; marched back and forth. They watched Noah... guarded him... all the while knowing they could never protect him from this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The LA Series is my attempt to continue the Luke and Noah story from the finale onward. I have tried to keep as true to the original show as possible. I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Revelation is rated explicit due to violet content. Do not read if you are easily triggered.

_He heaved himself up the back of a brown leather couch; leaned over it for a dizzy moment, trying to catch his breath... kept his eyes tightly closed to minimize the hammering pain. When he thought it was safe, he opened them. They took a while to focus, but once they did he was greeted by the vision of a dark-haired man lying asleep across the cushions… undeniably naked._

***

When work first began on the film, there was plenty of wild speculation over their quiet but firm Director’s sexuality. Noah Mayer never gave anything away. He never flirted with anybody either, male or female. He was the perfect professional; quiet but friendly.

One thing was clear though, every unattached gay guy and straight girl in the studio wanted him… and perhaps a married few dreamed of having him. He was gorgeous! And not in the run of the mill boy-next-door kind of way. He was the dark and broody type! Oliver's favorite! His mouth would water at just the thought of him.

So of course Noah Mayor became a bit of a conquest… the golden prize so to speak… the crown jewel!

Finally at one staff party, after Jenny plied Noah with five bottles of beer... made her clumsy move... they discovered the delectable bit of news that he was indeed gay. He remembered almost punching the air with joy! So now the girls were left out of the game disappointed and defeated... the fight was just among the men!

Cracking the outer shell of Noah Mayor wasn’t going to be easy. But the idea of having him... rubbing everybody else’s faces in it... was just too juicy to resist. He was willing to be patient and bide his time, but fate was shining down on him. On his usual night out on the prowl, he spotted the director sitting alone at a bar, downing several shots of tequila in one go. The director had issues. Who knew? Already on his own way down to oblivion, it didn’t take much for Oliver to push him a little further down the road. Once Noah was ripe for the picking, Oliver took him home.

And oh what a night! Of all his conquests this was by far his favorite. The man was seriously like a god! His body was all firm and muscular, like an Olympic swimmer, with smooth pale skin like the finest porcelain. Perfect! He'd simply savored the guy all night. He remembered not wanting to sleep... not wanting it to end. But the vodka eventually took over and he passed out on the couch. When he woke up, the beautiful creature was gone.

Of course he waltzed into work with a such spring in his step, it was immediately noticed by the usual gang of guilty gossipers. He announced proudly that he had bagged the director. The reaction was one of pure skepticism.

“Where’s the proof?” they asked.

But he didn’t need any. The embarrassment on Noah's face when he arrived at work that morning was all the proof they needed.

Oh yes! Oliver Deagostino was _king_!

Things quickly turned sour though. After lapping up the initial praise and congratulations from his work mates, Oliver began to get annoyed at the complete lack of acknowledgement from the man himself. The guy just carried on… pretended… like nothing happened at all!

And now out of nowhere… this other man... This Luke! And it wouldn’t do. It definitely wouldn’t do!

Because Oliver wanted more...

***

_It took him just a second to recognize his colleague, another to notice the coffee table strewn with vodka bottles and used condoms; one more second to immediately draw the only awful conclusion he could._

_“Shit!”_ _Suddenly he was wide awake!_ _“Shit!”_

_Noah backed away from the couch; heart in his mouth. He looked around for escape but felt terribly nauseas; tried every door in the place until he found the bathroom. He leaned over the sink; gagged, but nothing came up._

_He stood panting; staring at the plug hole for a few minutes... gripped the sink...whispered, “What have I done? What have I done?”_

***

No words were spoken as the cab drove them from the restaurant to the house. Luke did nothing. Said nothing. And it just served to infuriate Noah even more. If Luke of all people had zero to say for himself… for his behavior… then...

As the cab pulled up outside the house, Noah faced Luke and said, “So? Nothing to say? Nothing at all?”

Nothing.

Noah slammed the car door as he exited. He stormed into the house; threw his keys across the room in rage.

Luke shuffled in behind; closed the door softly. Noah was just about to lay into him again when Luke finally spoke in a broken whisper, “I’m so sorry…” The words seemed to catch in his throat.

“ _Yes, y_ ou've said that before, remember? Over and over! I thought we sorted this? How could you do that? You embarrassed me in front of _everybody_ Luke! My _work_ colleagues! I’ve already told you why I slept with Oliver!” Noah couldn’t believe it. The frustration boiled up inside of him. Every time he thought Luke had reigned in his unreasonable levels of jealousy…

“You never slept with Oliver, Noah…” Luke struggled to get the words out.

“Wha…?” Noah was stopped dead mid-tirade. He stare at Luke confused.

“You never slept with him…” The words were almost a whisper, but the anxiety behind them seemed to echo around the room.

“Yes Luke, I did. I told you I did.” He stated this confidently, but Luke’s expression... the tone of his voice... was stirring something deep inside him… something strange… something he felt he should fight against... like a light switch in a darkened room, filled with horrors he didn’t want to see…

“You never slept with Oliver, Noah, and I think…” Luke stopped for a second, his face pained. “I think you know that. I think you may always have known…you just…”

“No… no…” Noah shook his head with conviction, unsure of why he felt the overwhelming need to take a step back. As he did he tripped slightly on the edge of the rug; had to grab hold of the back of the couch to steady himself. His eyes remained fixed on Luke. He was shivering all of a sudden. 

_Why am I shivering?_

There was truth here somewhere... floating between them in an ominous haze.

“You never slept with Oliver… he…”

“ _No_!” Something made Noah scream the word.

Absolute silence filled the room for the beat of a second before he bolted down the passage and into the bathroom. He slammed the door, locking it quickly. He stood there staring wide-eyed at it; slowly backed away from it as though it were a rabid dog. There was truth in the air, in Luke's voice, in his eyes... there was something...

He was running… he knew he was running but he didn’t care! He was going to run from this one! Run! As fast and as far as he could.

Flashes from dreams assailed him from all sides; began to merge into a picture.

He heard as Luke flattened himself against the other side of the door. “Noah it’s going to be okay. It’s not your fault. Oliver-”

“Please go away...” His throat completely constricted as he begged. He struggled to draw in air... revelation seeping through him.

“Open the door, baby.” The pain in Luke’s voice sent pins through Noah’s chest.

He shook his head from side-to-side.

 _This isn't happening!_ _Not now! Not when everything's perfect._

The tears streamed down his cheeks. “Please Luke,” he begged. “Please don’t make me do this…” He made loud wheezing sounds; dropped on all fours to the cold tiled floor; tried to draw in oxygen; panicking when he realized he couldn't breath at all.

He didn’t hear the door break open, but suddenly Luke was holding a paper bag over his mouth. “That’s it. That’s it. Just get your breath back. Slowly… Slowly…” Luke was holding back sobs of his own, his breath shuddering. Noah felt Luke's hand on the back of his head, smoothing the black hair over and over.

Eventually Noah fell back; leaned up against the side of the bath. He sat there for a while, Luke’s hand still gently stroking his hair. When he looked up, there was no more denying it, he read the devastating truth in Luke’s tearful brown eyes; promptly keeled forward to vomit into the toilet.

****

 _He didn’t know what kind of sex he'd had with this other man... couldn’t remember any of it..._ _but he was sure of one thing, it had been rough! He had bled, he was sore and there were bruises all over his body. He looked up to catch his reflection in the mirror._

_He'd only ever slept with one man before. A single tear dropped down his cheek._

Now you don’t even have that anymore...

_And with a guy who shared his first name with Reid’s last, no less! How poetic was that? God, but fate really was having a field day with him._

_“You idiot!” he yelled at the face in the mirror; burst into hysterical laughter; fell back onto the floor in a mad mix of laughs and sobs that quickly turned into strangled gasps._ _It didn’t take long for him to throw up over the side of the bath._

God Noah, would you look at yourself? No wonder Luke dumped your sorry ass!”

 _And then he piled a ton of revulsion on his own soul for even daring to think about Luke, all pure and perfect, in this ugly, disgusting situation._ _Suddenly he felt exceptionally dirty… filthy. He scrambled into the shower and turned on the hot tap, not caring as the water burnt his skin raw… He deserved it! He had never hated himself more than he did at that moment. He slid down to the shower floor, water mingling with tears as he wept._

***

During the half an hour that followed, Luke could only describe Noah’s state as catatonic. He didn’t react as Luke carefully removed his tuxedo jacket, his waistcoat, his tie, and then finally undid the buttons on his shirt; slipped the cotton from his shoulders. Surprisingly Noah did sip down the water Luke held up to his lips, but other than that he continued to stare straight ahead of him; head resting on the cooling side of the sink. His arms remained at his sides as Luke used a cool washcloth to wipe his lips and face, then his neck and torso. Luke knew he couldn’t wash away the scars... wasn’t sure whether he was completing the task for his sake or for Noah’s... but it felt comforting… like a ritual and a right.

Eventually Luke leaned down to place an arm under Noah's, pulling him up so that Noah tilted into him. Gently he walked the shell shocked man to their bedroom; sat him on the side of the bed; bent to take off each of Noah's shoes and socks. He lifted Noah back up to standing; remove the trousers. Noah looked back at the bed. It seemed to call him, because as soon as Luke was done, Noah lowered himself down into it; pulled the sheet up to cover his shoulders.

Luke sat by the side of the bed; watched as the lids to Noah’s unseeing eyes slowly but surely closed. Finally he fell asleep. Only then did Luke leave the house, stumbling quickly to the bottom of their dark backyard; falling to his knees in the dew soaked grass. He let out the screams he had been holding back since that moment in the bar.

“Jesus…” he shuddered through shivering lips as the final scream left his body; hugged his arms around himself; cried all the tears he'd held inside for the man he loved more than his own life.

***

_Oliver was no longer a human form to Noah’s hazy brain. Oliver had become just a shape... a shadow that stalked over to him._

_Occasionally his mind would clear slightly, but his vision remained foggy, like it had been just after the brain surgery. He was shirtless and had no idea why or how. He backed awkwardly away from Oliver. “No… No, okay? I don’t want to.”_

_He felt completely disoriented; confused. He was no longer sure whether his words made sense. His tongue seemed to have swelled twenty times its usual size, and his stomach burned in pain. Fear gripped him as he felt control slipping through his fingers._ _He had little feeling left in his legs, so toppled like a stack of cards blown over by the wind when Oliver pushed him down. He landed hard behind the couch; winced with pain as his head knocked back into the hardwood floor._

_“You’re going to be my favorite,” slurred Oliver, taking a swig from the vodka bottle. “I can just feel it!” The man's black eyes burned as he wiped the drops from his lips on the back of his hand. Oliver’s eyes clouded over with lust; drunk on power as he straddled his legs either side of a semi-conscious Noah, clumsily removing his own shirt and fumbling with his belt buckle._

_As Oliver bent down, Noah tried to fight him away, but the blood in his body felt thick and heavy, weighing down his arms. Oliver easily removed the remainder of Noah’s clothing before_ _effortlessly rolling him over._

_Somehow Noah scrambled onto his hands and feet, but he was promptly flattened when Oliver pressed a foot down on his back. Releasing only to sit on the back of Noah’s thighs. Bending over, Oliver licked his tongue all the way up the base of Noah’s spine. "_ _Mm, nice!”_ _The smile in his voice caused Noah to gag and he threw up. “Don’t worry about it, honey… I like things dirty!”_

_“No, stop!” Despite being trapped within a confused blur, Noah fought Oliver throughout the night with every tiny speck of strength he had left. But something was growing inside of him, stronger and stronger, holding him back, pulling him under. Eventually he couldn’t struggle anymore; just lay there paralyzed while Oliver played… until gratefully, the world went dark._

***

The nightmare that woke Noah put him in the worst state of terror Luke had ever seen. Now that his conscious mind had caught up with his unconscious mind, it was easy for the memories to find the door and open it. Noah pressed his back up against the headboard, eyes wide, breathing hard; emitting small whimpers; each one killing Luke a little more. He would not allow Luke near him, batting Luke's hands away and muttering incoherently.

Luke was five minutes away from calling 911, when Noah finally quieted; whispered like a plea, “Luke?”

Luke was immediately by his side on the bed, gratefully drawing a shaky Noah into his arms; resting Noah's head on his chest. Luke tried not to let Noah feel the terror threatening to consume him as he asked, “Did you remember?”

Noah nodded. “There were bruises on my wrists…”

“What?”

“When I woke up that morning They were like… They were fingers.”

Horrified, Luke softly kissed the wrist on each of Noah’s hands.

“How did you know?” Noah asked quietly.

Luke took a deep breath through his nose. “I saw him at the bar. I saw him put powder in some guys drink.”

Noah closed his eyes.

“And Noah,” he shook his head as he remembered that moment, “I knew instantly. It all made sense… The nightmares and… I’m so sorry…” Luke couldn’t stop the flood then.

Noah opened his eyes; leaned up to put a kiss on the side of Luke’s head; held his lips there as he brought his hands up to hug Luke’s head into him. They rocked silently back and forth together.


	3. Chapter 3

The memories seemed to flood Noah like a broken dam. Luke worried over him the entire night, but nothing could have prepared him for the worry he felt that Friday morning, when he found Noah cooking pancakes for breakfast; for all the world like nothing had happened. If it weren’t for the dark circles under his eyes, Luke could almost believe it hadn’t.

“Hungry?”

“Noah, what are you doing?” he asked carefully.

“Making breakfast. What does it look like?” Noah replied, as though Luke had just asked the most ridiculous question ever.

“Yes, but…”

“Come on, sit down.” Noah cut him off; pulled out a stool; indicated to Luke that he should take it.

But Luke didn’t sit. He wished he could play along. He wished he could help Noah hide in this veil of normality, but he knew it wouldn’t help. “Babe…” he began, but Noah was quick; placed a kiss on his lips before he could continue; pulled him back; forcibly pushed him down onto the stool.

“One stack or two?” he asked.

Luke shook his head as his eyes welled up. “Noah…”

“I have blueberries too…” his voice becoming desperate.

“Noah…”

“And maple syrup…”

“Noah, stop dammit!”

Luke had to stand quickly as Noah visibly sagged. He grabbed him, bending at the same time to turn off the stove. He removed the spatula from Noah's fingers, throwing it in the sink; walked him carefully to the living room. He sat down with Noah on the couch, took his hands. “I know you want to, but we can’t just pretend it didn’t happen.”

Noah sighed; squeezed his eyes. “I just needed a moment… Just some time...” Looking up and seeing the concern on Luke’s face he grew devastated. “I’m sorry… I’m scaring you aren’t I? I’m fine... really.”

“I still can’t believe this… I can’t take this in…” Luke whispered. They leaned their heads together, squeezing fingers.

Ten minutes later Luke stood up suddenly and with purpose... anger in his blood, he marched over to pick up the phone.

“What are you doing?” Noah asked.

“I’m calling the police.”

Noah rushed up to grab at the phone. “No way!”

“We have to report this!”

“Report what, Luke? Where’s the evidence? We’re talking about something that happened months ago! It’s my word against his!”

“But we can’t let him get away with this.”

“Luke…”

“No, Noah! That kid he tried to drug last night couldn’t have been more than seventeen!”

Luke watched as a horrified recognition dawned on Noah’s features. "Jack..." Then softly, “He’s one of the actors.” Noah returned to the couch, collapsing back down. “Oh my God...”

“Noah, if I hadn’t seen him…”

Noah nodded. “Can you just sit here with me for a little, please?”

Luke joined him, wrapping Noah up in his arms.

“He’s been completely normal.” Noah said, amazed. “Even after… The day after he asked me how I was... not worried or anything… like you’d ask anyone… just completely normal.”

Luke held him tighter; swallowed back the stones in his throat... fought to douse the blind fury he felt rising up inside that Noah didn't need right then; his natural instinct to stand up and fight.

“And we’ve gone out… We’ve laughed and joked together… How did I not remember? It’s mad, right?”

“Noah, we don’t know what he gave you. The combination of that and I guess… I guess a part of you wanted to forget. And then everything that happened with your dad… the nightmares you had about the fire… they must have dug it all up somehow.”

“I guess.”

“What should we do now then? What do you want me to do?”

Noah thought for a while; looked right at him. “We’ve got to call the police.”

Luke nodded with relief. He stood first; held out his hand for Noah to take it. Noah took a deep breath; held the extended hand so Luke could pull him up. They both walked over and stared at the phone.

Noah looked up, the fear clear in his eyes. “Will you do it?”

Luke nodded; dialed the number. Each button click sounded like a gunshot. Luke grabbed Noah’s hand tightly as they waited for an answer. “Hello? Yes… My name’s Luke, Luke Snyder… Yes, um… I want to report a…” Luke looked up into Noah’s eyes as he realized the word he would have to voice. “I need to report a rape…”

Noah nodded at him; squeezing Luke's hand a little tighter.

“No, no it’s not me. Um... How does it work? Do we need to come in or…?” Luke waited for the answer, then said, “Okay, yes… We’ll be there soon.” He hung up the phone. "They're expecting us."

“We have to go in?” Noah asked, starting to shake.

“I’m afraid so. But I’ll stay with you, okay? The whole time.”

“Luke… you know if we go to the police that’s it, don’t you? Everything could go wrong again.”

“Things have already gone wrong, Noah…” Luke reached forward to take his hand. “Now we put them right. We put them right together...”

Noah nodded.

“You okay?” Luke checked.

“Yes.”

Luke took a deep breath as Noah kissed his cheek.

***

On arrival at the police station they were immediately sent to a specialized rape center located across the road. The room they were finally left to wait in looked like that of any doctor’s office. The fact that it was decorated with a feminine edge was not lost on either of them.

Noah sat nervously on a couch, eyes following Luke as he paced back-and-forth. “I’m sorry, Luke.”

Luke stopped. “I told you Noah, this isn’t your fault!”

“No... I mean for putting you through this…”

Luke sat by his side. “Right now I’m just so proud of you. For being strong. For doing the right thing and reporting it so that that son-of-a-bitch can’t do this to anybody else!”

Just then the door opened. A slight blonde women with a clipboard walked in. She had a pair of spectacles balanced perfectly on the end of her nose, reminding Noah of a school teacher. She looked kind.

“Mr. Mayor? I’m Terry Curtis.” She reached out her hand to Noah after he nodded; shook his hand politely. “You can call me, Terry.”

Noah looked at her skeptically. “And you’re police, right?”

“I’m from the special rape unit. The officer that referred you here explained that to you right? I will be acting as one of the detectives on your case, but I'm also a trained psychologist. I will do my best to guide you through this. We will meet for hourly sessions twice a week until I feel like you're making progress, then we will reduce our sessions to once a week. Of course you will be able to phone me at any time that you feel you need to talk. And I really encourage you to do so. Any time. Day or night.”

Noah swallowed hard but both men nodded.

“Sorry,” Noah said, pointing to Luke as he stood up, “this is Luke Snyder, my boyfriend.”

“Oh, that’s right. Hello Mr. Snyder.” She shook hands with Luke as well. As they all sat down she said, “So basically, we will look after you here at the center from now on.”

“What does that mean?” Noah asked. “What’s going to happen?”

“Do you mind if I call you Noah?” Noah nodded his head. “Okay. Well Noah, right now all you have to do is tell me what happened.”

Noah looked down.

“Take as much time as you want.” They sat in silence for a while. After a quick glance at Luke she said, “We could do this just you and me, if that would be easier.”

Immediately Noah said, “No. No, I want Luke here.”

“Yes, “agreed Luke, “I want to be here.” He took hold of Noah’s hand as they both turned to her.

“Okay, that's good.” She smiled, pushing a flyaway from her face; quickly pinning it back. "You need to know that this session is being filmed as a police interview. The evidence is quite important in terms of any potential trial, but if you are in any way uncomfortable about that, we can do an audio recording instead. Your sessions with me will be completely private. It is only this meeting that will be recorded. Understand?"

Noah nodded.

"Are you okay being filmed?"

Noah looked over at Luke for a moment, before nodding.

"Okay great," she continued. “So… when did this attack take place?”

“About a year ago…” Luke replied quickly.

Terry held up her hand. “If Noah could just tell me what happened himself?”

Luke nodded his apologies.

“Last February,” Noah said. “I don’t remember the exact date.”

“And where did it take place?”

“Um… In his apartment…"

"The assailant?"

Noah nodded. "He lives Downtown.”

“And your attacker? Do you know him?”

“We… um… I know him. We work together.”

“His name?”

Noah looked to Luke who nodded. “Oliver, Oliver Deagostino. He just used to flirt with me, you know?” He said the words to Luke, as though talking to him directly. His brow creased. “Made little jokes and things. I didn’t think anything of it.”

“Okay. So, what happened exactly?” When Noah didn’t answer; instead looked at his lap, she gave him a push. “You were at his place, and so was he…”

“Um, no... I was… I got drunk in a bar. He found me there somehow… took me home.”

“So you were drunk?”

“Yes he was, but he was also drugged!” piped in Luke.

“Please Mr. Snyder, I must ask you not to interrupt.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, Luke.” Noah stopped him this time. “I can handle it.” He gave Luke a small kiss on his cheek. “Yes, I was drunk... Um… I was pretty messed up that night.” Luke’s breath shuddered next to him, prompting Noah to squeeze his hand in reassurance. “So that’s partly the reason I’ve not come forward until now… because I didn’t remember any of it. I woke up at his place and I thought I’d done a stupid thing, you know? I thought I’d had a one-night stand… But then last night…” he started to shake slightly as the memories flooded him again. Luke put his arm around him in concern.

“What happened last night?” She asked.

“Can I?” Luke requested.

“Go ahead,” She relented.

“Last night I saw Oliver sneak a powder into a guys drink at the bar. And when I told Noah about it… everything just made sense all of a sudden, you know? I mean Noah’s not the kind of person to get drunk and sleep around. If you knew him-”

“Noah, do you remember the rape?” She cut Luke off, sensing that he was about to spiral into anger.

“Yes,” it was a whisper. “Until last night I didn’t, but I do now... I remember everything.”

“I’m going to need you to talk me through it.”

Both Luke and Noah shuddered.

***

An hour later with all the details laid out on the table, Luke could take no more. He stood up quickly; left the room. As the door closed behind him, he leaned sideways against the wall, biting his hand to prevent any noises Noah might hear from the other room. It was horrific! It was worse than horrific! And he couldn’t stand the thought that it had happened. That it had happened to Noah! His gentle, kind and sweet Noah who would never deliberately hurt anybody.

And suddenly Luke was angry! So angry that it felt like a fire was lit in his belly! He stormed back into the room, where Noah and Terry still sat in silence. “I want him arrested! I want him arrested right now!”

“Please, Mr. Snyder… I realize this is difficult…”

“ _Difficult_? _Difficult_? How many men has he done this to, hey? How many? And… and… where are they? Where are those men? Why has nobody come forward? Why? If somebody had come forward before then... then… then Noah…then…” He stood there shaking his head from side-to-side; tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Noah didn’t move. He simply sat and watched Luke; shed silent tears of his own. Finally he spoke to Terry, all the while keeping his eyes locked with Luke’s, “What do we do now?”

“Well, it’s been too long for a medical test to reveal anything. We have Mr. Snyder’s testimony, but it doesn’t prove that your particular drink was contaminated... It’s circumstantial. I’m afraid the fact that you were intoxicated won’t go in your favor in court, so the next best thing would be the clothes you were wearing that night. Do you still have them?”

Blue eyes communicated silently with misty hazel, trying to impart some sense of calm. “Yes, but I would have washed them.”

“It’s still worth having them tested. And do you know if you were seen at the bar? If anybody could have seen you?”

“I spoke to the barman for a while… but… it was so long ago I’d be surprised if he remembered me.”

“Okay, just one more thing Noah, and it’s not very nice I’m afraid, but you’ll need to take an HIV test.”

That sent Luke dropping wide-eyed to the floor, but Noah spoke quickly, still holding fast to his gaze. “It’s okay. I took one months ago… after… I figured I should since I couldn’t remember…”

The relief on Luke’s face was palpable.

“Good.” She smiled at him. “That’s good. Okay now the next thing you should do is…”

“Hold on,” Luke finally cut in from the floor, breaking the eye contact for the first time to look at Terry, “why are you sitting here telling Noah what _he_ needs to do? Why don’t you go out there and arrest the bastard who did this to him?”

“Mr. Snyder,” and then softly, “Luke... There are certain procedures that we have to follow…”

“I don’t give a shit about your procedures! That animal needs to be locked up!”

She ignored the outburst to continue, “And if we do this right... we follow the right procedures... then he will be.”

“But you can’t guarantee that, can you?”

“We will do everything we can…”

“And what does that mean? A slap on the wrist?”

“Let _us_ take care of this…”

Luke looked over at Noah desperately, completely lost and helpless. Noah walked over to join him on the floor, comforting him, creating a tight ball of a hug, his lips touching the nape of Luke’s neck.

“I’m so scared for you.” Luke sobbed.

“I know,” Noah whispered. “But I’ll be okay. I promise. So long as I have you, I’ll be okay.”

***

It was early evening by the time they arrived back home, both exhausted after a full day of emotional interviews piled on top of a sleepless night. The moment the door closed, Luke took hold of both Noah’s hands; drew him into a hug.

“I don’t want to dwell on this Luke. I just want us to get back to normal, okay? Just you and me… like it’s been.”

“Okay,” Luke said, trying to sound confident.

The phone rang, interrupting them. Luke squeezed Noah’s hands; released one to rub down the side of Noah’s face; walked over to pick up the phone. “Hello, Luke speaking.”

“Hi Luke, it’s your favorite friend here!” Maddie's voice came through the phone like a song.

“Hi, sweet. Did you make it home okay?”

“Yes, I’m all safe and sound, but _dying_ to know how the wrap party went? I can’t believe I missed seeing the two of you dressed like penguins! Did you take pictures?”

“Um… yes. It was… It was good.”

“It was good? Then why do you sound like somebody kicked your dog?” Luke looked over at Noah, asking a question with a look. Noah nodded his assent while kicking off his shoes; disappeared down the passage.

“Maddie…” Luke could hear the tears in his voice. “Maddie…”

So could she. “Luke, are you okay? Is it Noah? Did something happen?”

And Luke told Maddie the entire story from the gruesome beginning.

***

Who the hell was this blonde? Oliver was incensed! He couldn’t understand where this person came from! Noah didn’t seem to socialize enough to have met somebody... and clearly these two knew each other well... which made him wonder whether Noah had a boyfriend all along. Although he didn’t think so…

This was a major complication to his plan!

He'd spent months since that wonderful night, waiting for the opportunity to have another go at Noah. But he could never caught Noah drinking more than one or two bottles of beer. He certainly never saw him drinking alone again. He was definitely starting to lose his patience! He wanted him!

As a result, he spent hours agonizing over the problem, knowing that he would have to change tactics in order to catch his prey. But just as fate had shown him the way on that magical night, he was once again given the answer. One afternoon a courier handed him... of all the people in the studio... the deeds and the key to Noah’s brand new house. And of course he made himself a copy, as soon as he possibly could.

***

Maddie shook from head to toe as she hung up the phone. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand; looked around the small apartment feeling totally lost.

_Noah._

_Noah was…_

_Somebody…_

_Luke’s voice…_

Her heart ached.

She found her feet at last; wandered into the living room. She stood there for a minute, not even hearing the television as a noisy car chase scene flashed across the screen. Finally she felt her legs give way, but as she fell, Jonathan seemed to appear out of nowhere to catch her.

“Maddie, what is it?” He had to flip his head back as his ginger fringe flopped into his eyes.

She looked up at him as she leaned against his solid support, suddenly noticing him for the first time. “I need to go to LA.”

“But Maddie, you just got back...”

“I need to go to LA _right now_!”

“Okay… Okay… Um... Let’s just sit for a minute. Just get your breath back.” Jonathan led her gently to the armchair, quickly leaning over to grab the remote; switch the television to mute at the same time. He knelt in front of her, one hand squeezing on her shoulder. “Maddie, you barely had enough cash to pay for your last ticket." Where will we find the money to buy another one?”

Maddie couldn’t think. She didn’t care about the money! She looked around, desperately searching for a solution. Eyes connecting with Jonathan’s she said, “You can drive me…”

“What? To LA? Maddie, it’s a twenty hour drive!”

“Please? Please, Jonathan? I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. I _need_ to go! They _need_ me!”

After some time he nodded; gestured toward the bedroom. “What about…”

“Catherine can look out for him. She owes me a favor.”

“When do you want to leave?”

“How long will it take you to pack?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The LA Series is my attempt to continue the Luke and Noah story from the finale onward. I have tried to keep as true to the original show as possible. I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Revelation is rated explicit...

They lay asleep on their sides, noses just inches apart. That was how Luke first saw Noah when he opened his eyes. It was so breathtaking, that for minutes he held still, afraid Noah might move position in his sleep. He was just content to lie and stare at him. By some miracle there were just two episodes of night terror, and Luke was able to calm him reasonably quickly with both. So now Noah looked a lot more rested. In fact he looked peaceful.

Finally unable to resist it, Luke used his nose to trace a pattern over Noah’s face; nuzzled at his cheek, his eyes, his forehead, his nose. This roused Noah, and as Luke’s path crossed his lips, Noah sleepily sought out Luke’s contours until they found the wet warmth of his mouth. Luke felt Noah’s hands run up his sides, under his shirt, over his back. Luke pulled back, his face creased with concern. It was a small movement, but it was enough for Noah to notice. Reading Luke's expression, Noah looked suddenly crestfallen. “Don’t do that, Luke... Please don’t do that…”

“What?” Luke asked softly.

“Don’t treat me differently. Not like this. Especially not like this.”

“I just…”

“I don’t want you to be afraid to touch me. I can deal with what happened, but I can’t deal with that…”

Luke nodded; moved in close to Noah; brought his hand up to cup the back of his neck. He kissed Noah fully on the mouth, his tongue pushing intensely toward the back of Noah's throat in reassurance.

“It’s Sunday…” Noah whispered as Luke came up briefly for air.

“Yes it is, and what do you want to do today?”

Noah’s mouth was beside his ear; the cavity filled with hot breath. “I want you to touch me.” He stroked Luke’s hair with both hands; smoothed the curls off his forehead. Luke kissed the tip of Noah's ear; moved lower to draw the earlobe into his mouth; twitched it with his tongue. He rolled over Noah’s waiting body; kisses following the angles of Noah’s jaw; under a chin shadowed with sprouting stubble. He found the Adam’s apple that moved as Noah swallowed from anticipation. As he kissed, Luke's hand explored the shape of Noah’s face and neck; thumb rubbing up and down, following the pulse beat in his neck.

Luke lifted himself. “Come, take this off…” He pulled at Noah’s white t-shirt, his favorite for sleeping in. Noah sat up in the bed; pull the shirt off his head; tossed it aside.

“Lie down…” Luke instructed.

Leaning up on one elbow, Luke reached out to touch Noah’s chest. He watched the goose bumps ripple over his skin. Noah shivered slightly as Luke drew a fingertip in a gentle circle round one nipple; tweaking it between two fingers. Luke ducked his head down; allowed his tongue to dart lightly over the other; was rewarded by a sharp intake of breath from his lover, whose left hand pressed slowly down Luke’s back. The tiny hairs at the base of Luke's neck prickled with pleasure. Finished his ministrations of the nipple, Luke continued his kisses in a downward course, stopping at Noah’s navel. He savored the feeling of Noah quivering under his tongue; making small low guttural noises that left Luke almost weak with desire.

Maintaining the contact with his mouth, he sat up on his knees to give himself the leverage to remove Noah’s underwear. As he did so, he licked quickly from the start of the pubic bone back up to the navel; blew softly along the path of spittle; hearing how Noah’s breathing intensified. Luke maneuvered himself between Noah’s legs; held them open by lying across one; pressed the other thigh with his hand. He spent a few minutes studying Noah’s form, hard and ready for him, blowing on it, kissing around it, pressing his lips into the soft skin of Noah’s inner thighs; breathing in the scent of him. As Luke's mouth took all of him, Noah arched his back, moaning loudly; reaching over to press his fingers into Luke’s skull; encouraged the skilled movement of Luke’s head, almost directing him to the points of highest pleasure. After just a few moments Noah was left utterly weakened; panting for air. Luke rested his chin lightly on Noah's pubic bone; stared adoringly up the length of him.

Blissed-out, Noah continued to stroke the now sweat-drenched hair away from Luke’s face. Luke turned his head to grab one hand; kissed his palm. Noah pulled Luke by both shoulders, urging him gently up and across the expanse of his naked flesh. When Luke was eye-level, Noah pushed Luke’s underwear down, cupped the firm orbs of his behind; made it clear what he wanted. Luke must have had worry written on his features, because Noah took Luke's face in his hands and nodded with full eye contact, the blue in his eyes rich with desire. This gave Luke all the confidence he needed to gently ready Noah; lower himself down into him; Luke's own flesh heated with passion. Luke spent the next few minutes fighting with himself to stay controlled; move slowly; hold things back in a steady rhythm. They read the want in each other’s eyes; fixed their stares right up until Luke eventually sunk down with a whimper, burnt and limbless; throbbing inside of Noah.

Just before they both nodded off Noah whispered, “Thank you.”

***

Jonathan snored softly in the seat next to her as she drove. She smiled over at him. He could really be so cute without even trying. His head leaned sideways against the windowpane; his mouth gaped open. His long mop of ginger curls were messy around his shoulders. What a sweetheart!

Senseless the night before, Maddie wanted to drive immediately to Los Angeles, but Jonathan managed to convince her it would be best they both had a good night’s sleep, before attempting the long drive south. He knew they would have to share the driving, and Maddie was in no state to do so safely. Reluctantly she agreed. Now, after driving for hours, she knew how right he had been. She had managed to get some sleep, but her night was restless, her heart broken for Noah. She still couldn’t believe it. And to think he'd been carrying the memories around for months, without even realizing it. She didn’t think she would ever forget the pain she heard in Luke’s voice. The road ahead bent sharply before her. As she drove around it, she was suddenly forced to slow; finally to stop. The entire motorway was clogged up with trucks and cars. The whole motorway was at a standstill.

“What the…” she whispered to herself.

_No. Please no! Not now!_

“Jonathan! Jonathan, wake up!” She leaned over and shook his shoulder.

“Mm?” he asked; then seemed to notice the car wasn’t moving. “Damn!”

“I can’t believe it! What do you think it is?” She spotted a police officer walking up the emergency lane. Quickly she wound down the window to call him over, “Officer? Officer?” As he walked over he leaned on the roof of their car. “Could you tell us what’s going on please?”

“I’m afraid there’s a pileup about 8 miles up the road. It’s a bad one.”

“How long will we have to wait?” She could feel her heart sinking…

“I’m sorry miss, but it’s going to be a few hours at least.”

As the man walked away she looked over sadly at Jonathan, who shook his head in sympathy for her.

***

Monday morning arrived, and Luke spent the first hour trying to convince Noah to stay at home. When that failed, he spent another hour insisting on accompanying Noah to work.

But Noah was adamant.

Oliver had taken something that didn’t belong to him, and Noah was damned if he was going to allow what happened to disrupt their life. He and Luke would both go to work as normal, and that was that. Despite what Luke thought, Noah wasn't afraid of Oliver. All he felt was disgust and betrayal. He had treated Oliver as a friend, he had trusted him, and Oliver had taken that trust and twisted it in the worst way possible.

As Noah walked into work that morning... staff greeting him with smiles; thanking him for the amazing party... his eyes immediately fell on Oliver. The Italian stood in his usual position by the coffee machine, entertaining the surrounding people with tales of his weekend accomplishments. Noah’s stomach tightened as he thought of the many times he stood and laughed at Oliver’s stories, not realizing how exactly it was that Oliver managed to be so popular among the population of Los Angeles. He stopped dead in front of the group; waited for Oliver to notice him.

“Boss!” Oliver said excitedly; lifted an arm to pat Noah’s shoulder. Noah took a marked step back. Oliver and the surrounding people looked at each other in surprise.

“Oliver,” Noah said with authority, “I need to see you in my office.”

A quizzical expression crossed Oliver’s face.

“Now.” Noah made it clear from his tone that he expected Oliver to follow him.

As they entered Noah’s office, Oliver said, “Can I help you with something?”

Noah almost visibly blanched at the audacity of the guy. “I want you to collect your belongings and leave my set.”

“What?” asked Oliver, astonished. “Why?”

“You… know… why…” Noah said the words clearly, enunciating each one, making sure that Oliver understood him.

“Oh,” he said, realization dawning on his face, “I see…”

He horrified Noah by reacting with a smile with pleasure. Oliver was glad… he was glad that Noah remembered… he was glad that Noah knew.

Noah said nothing more. Still smiling, Oliver turned and left him there… He stood panting in the center of his office; tried to keep his breathing steady by drawing the air in and out through his nose. He watched weak-kneed from his doorway as Oliver collected a box, cleared all the contents from his desk, and headed for the exit. People around him kept asking for an explanation on where he was going, but he said nothing to them.

Just as he reached the main exit, two uniformed police officers entered. Noah drew a quick intake of breath. Melanie strolled up to them; spoke to them. She turned and pointed Oliver out. Oliver twisted his head to glare directly at Noah. The look he had in his eyes almost caused Noah to stagger, but Noah held firm as the officers said something to Oliver; finally escorted him out of the building.

All eyes were on Noah. He looked sadly around the room at his shocked staff, before closing the office door on them. He walked over to his desk; suddenly had to lean forward to steady himself against it. Shakily he took his phone out; pressed the speed dial, “Luke, the police have taken him in.”

***

He left the police station after explaining that he had slept with Noah Mayor and that it was consensual, and that if they didn’t believe him, to try and prove otherwise (which of course he knew they couldn’t). He could barely contain his excitement. By turning him in, Noah had given him all the will power he needed to finally put his plan into action. And the extra challenge of this Luke, just made the whole expedition all the more delighting.

***

Luke hung up the phone; anger threatening to consume him. He tore it from the wall socket, flung it with all his strength across the room, where it shattered against the wall inches from Noah’s head, just as the man walked through the front door.

“ _Fuck_!” Luke screamed. He stood stock-still when he realized how close he came to hitting Noah. “Oh my, God!”

“What the hell, Luke?”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry it’s just… God, I want to kill him!”

Noah sighed, “Luke, the police are dealing with him…”

“No, Noah. No, they’re not. The whole day! The whole day they kept us there, asking you question after question, and then they let that bastard go after just three hours?”

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s it?”

“Luke, we’ve done all we can…”

“Well I haven’t! I’m not going to just stand by and let this happen! That guy is going down if it’s the last thing I do!” He started marching around, lifting papers and books on the table; opening cupboards and drawers.

“Luke…”

“Where’s my laptop?”

“Luke!”

“Have you seen it?” He continued his hasty search of the room. “I’ll check the internet. There will be information on there.”

“Luke, please! Please just stop! Okay? Please?”

Luke froze to look at him.

“I’m all right,” Noah said. “I can deal with this. I hate it and it’s not easy… but I can deal with it. I’m okay. So why… why aren’t you?”

This question seemed to shock Luke for a moment as though he hadn’t considered it before. He shook his head; tears slipping down his face. “Because it’s all my fault! I should have been here! Why wasn’t I here? I shouldn’t have stayed away so long…” He bit his lower lips in an attempt to stop yet more tears from falling.

Noah walked over; pulled Luke’s head into his shoulder. Strong emotions dragged at every part of Luke. “Hey… Hey…” Noah waited for Luke to lift his head up. “Look at me… Look at me, Luke…” As Luke looked up, Noah cupped his chin. “You stayed away for as long as you needed to, and I waited for you for as long as you needed me too. And that was right, Luke! It was the right thing! For both of us! And I won’t have you blame yourself for this, you hear me?” He grabbed Luke’s face in his hands; pulled their foreheads together as he whispered, “The only person to blame here… is Oliver.”

Looking to the side briefly... getting an idea... Noah pulled Luke across the room... stopped briefly to dim the light switch... leaned over to press play on the nearby hi-fi system. All of Me by John Legend was playing; he closed around Luke so they could dance slowly together. Luke closed his eyes; rested his head on Noah’s shoulder, wrapped up in the safety of each other’s arms.

***

His body radiated excitement at the prospect of the night. He knew he was taking a risk... he'd never gone for two at once before... but he wasn’t afraid. He was thrilled. He drank in the adrenaline, thriving on it.

Oliver always marveled at his own levels of patience. He could always wait if he had to; waiting was part of the buzz, part of the hunt. So he stood in the darkness of a tree, watching them through the window as they danced together.

_How touching!_

He watched as they kissed; as those kisses grew heavier. He watched as Luke drew Noah over to the couch; watched them lay together. He watched as the soft petting become more intense; hands explored more intimately. He watched as Noah led Luke ahead of him toward the back of the house, holding back his hair; kissing the side of his neck along the way.

This was the moment. He used his key slowly in the lock; made sure to keep the click nice and soft. He opened the door with care, closing it silently behind him. After first removing his shoes, he stealthily he followed the unmistakable sounds of love making; stood in the shadows of the passage… He stood and watched them, licking his lips.

Yes, Oliver was patient… he would wait his turn.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The LA Series is my attempt to continue the Luke and Noah story from the finale onward. I have tried to keep as true to the original show as possible. I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> Revelation is rated as explicit...

They slept just in their shorts; all enveloped together as if especially gift-wrapped solely for him. And there _he_ was, his Noah! He spent some time examining him, barely able to believe the moment had come… after months of careful planning.

His favorite!

He reached out to follow; inches away from touching; the contours of Noah’s thigh. It hugged almost as high as the waist of the other man. He nearly allowed his hand to smooth over the skin; remembered himself; quickly withdrew his eager fingers.

All in good time…

***

Terry was on her eighth cup of coffee, looking over the dead-end file of her twentieth case. She was bushed. No matter how many of these cases she dealt with, it never got any easier.

She sighed and decided to call it a night. She was too tired to concentrate anyway, and it would be catastrophic if she missed a vital clue because of it. Lifting her handbag from the back of her chair, she headed for the exit, greeting various people as she past.

Just as the glass exit doors slid open, she heard, “Detective!” and turned to see Lewis running urgently to catch her.

“Yes, what is it?”

“We’ve had a break in the Mayor case!”

***

His gaze was initially fixed only on the dark one… the one of his dreams… but then his eyes caught a glint of gold when the blonde turned over. It was as if he was seeing him for the first time.

_Well! Not bad at all!_

Not usually his type, but still; definitely not something to say no too. Well defined… almost innocent looking.

This was going to be a good night! This was going to be the best night ever!

***

It took them five hours to drive the eight miles from where the traffic first slowed to the pileup itself, then finally to hit the clear road up ahead of it. At some point Jonathan took over the driving, Maddie’s vision blurred by frustrated tears. He tried to keep the mood light, making stupid jokes, singing along to songs on the radio, in the vain hope that it would distract her. She did her best to smile at him, but she knew the consequences of the delay meant they would have to stop for the night.

They spent the night in some seedy roadside motel that smelt of stale beer and cigarettes. He asked Maddie to tell him what had her so spooked, but she thanked him for his support, saying it was a private matter and she simply couldn’t discuss it. Whatever it was, he knew it had to be bad for her to risk such an epic road trip.

She apologized to him profusely during the course of the journey. He reassured her that he was happy to help. In fact he was happy to do just about anything for Maddie, and he could think of worse things then spending two days in a car with her. Unfortunately they were so exhausted, that it was only Sunday afternoon by the time they climbed back into the car. But then disaster decided to befall them yet again, when his old beat up Chevy refused to start.

“No!” Maddie yelled; banged the dashboard a few times.

So it was only early Monday evening when they eventually came upon the outer suburbs of Los Angeles, and a twenty hour journey drew closer to a conclusion more than forty-five hours later…

***

Oliver was a pleasure seeker. He'd gotten his kicks in many a way before, but nothing… absolutely nothing… had energized him as much as watching his future two conquests in _that_ way. Seeing them par take in intimacy... muscled forms running smooth like a dance; clueless to his secretive presence just yards away. Knowing that he could be discovered at any second, gave Oliver a buzz like no other. He enjoyed watching as they drifted off to sleep together, he enjoyed just watching them sleep. He had the entire night, so he allowed himself the pleasure of drawing this part out a little longer, until finally and deliciously he decided it was time.

He hadn’t used this method very often. Colorless, odorless and tasteless, Rohypnol was the most obvious choice... the symptoms being close to those of a bad hangover. By morning most people didn’t even remember the night before, or if they did, blamed it all conveniently on the alcohol. In fact in most people it caused a kind of euphoria; a lack of inhibition that meant they simply didn’t react much to his advances at all.

But Noah… Oliver breathed out deeply; closed his eyes as he remembered that night.

But in situations like this, when the heat was on, when it was already too late to be discreet… when he had nothing to loose… then he would bring out the ether. Of course whenever he used it he knew he would have to leave town, but then flight was also part of the fun.

Using ether meant he had absolute control over the dosage. Use a lot, knock the person out cold, use a little, and keep that person just lucid enough to fight a little.

And Oliver loved the fight!

***

_Noah was clearly drunk as he sat at the bar, a row of shooters stacked neatly in front of him._

“There he is!” said Lewis, pointing Oliver out on the screen for Terry, just as he stepped into the camera view.

_Oliver stood and watched Noah for sometime; moved forward to take the stool next to him. It didn’t take him long to move in closer, put his arm around Noah’s shoulders. He said something to him and Noah smiled dizzily, before downing another shot._

“Okay, now here it is!” Lewis announced excitedly.

_Quickly Oliver moved his hand to knock Noah’s wallet onto the floor. As Noah bent to retrieve it, Oliver expertly leaned over to share a white power out between the remaining shot glasses._

“Gotcha!” said Terry delighted. "What a result!"

"And to think the barman only installed the security camera a week before, after a stabbing incident."

“Lewis, do you think this is enough to get us a search warrant on his place?”

“Already requested, I should have one in the hour… Do you want to do this tonight?”

“Absolutely!”

***

When Noah’s brain cleared enough to realize he was securely bound... arms and legs... to a chair, he immediately began to struggle… the sensation dragging him back to that night in the cabin.

_Wake up!_

The last thing he wanted was to be confronted once again with the image of his father burning to death.

_Wake up!_

His eyes burst open once the other half of his brain worked out he wasn’t dreaming. He was tied to a chair in the living room. Fear gripped at him immediately. “Luke?” 

“You know… he’s rather lovely?”

Noah shook at the calm voice, the same voice that haunted his nightmares. Wide-eyed he looked up through the haze to see Oliver at the end of the hall, leaning up against the frame of their bedroom door, gazing in the direction of their bed.

_No!_

Suddenly feeling ice cold, he struggled with the bonds. “You lay one hand on him, and I swear I’ll kill you! You hear me?”

Oliver didn’t react at all. “Not my type you understand but… hmm… quite angelic. I can see why you like him.”

_Luke. Luke. Luke._

His panicked and groggy mind flashed through a thousand thoughts in a minute, urgently trying to find a solution that would protect Luke.

“Now, now, Noah,” Oliver purred as he slithered up the hallway toward him, “there’s no need to be jealous. After all, it’s you that I really want. Think of Luke as... hmm... as an entrée.” He moved in fast, thrusting a knee between Noah’s thighs; pushing Noah's shoulders back. He leaned his face in to lick at Noah’s cheek. Noah tried to sidle away from him, but there was little room to maneuver. He pressed himself as far back against the chair as he could, bound hands gripping the legs.

_No! Not again!_

“What have you done to him?” Noah asked breathlessly, afraid of the answer.

“I wouldn’t worry. He’ll be awake in about… hmm....” Oliver looked up at the clock on the wall, “ten minutes I’d say. Then we gonna have a little fun.”

The Italian grasped Noah’s foot; ran a hand up his leg. Noah shivered; watched Oliver's eyes darken as he drank it in.

“You’re sick, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told,” Oliver smiled his best cat-like grin.

***

After knocking a few times, they established the guy wasn’t home. Terry stepped well back so that the uniformed officers could break down the door. Once opened they swarmed inside to secure the space, before giving her the okay to enter.

It was a sparsely decorated apartment, the type she'd seen many times before in her line of work. It was the apartment of somebody on the move. A person who didn’t hang around in one place for too long…

A thorough search eventually revealed Oliver’s stash of drug supplies and the other paraphernalia of a serial rapist. His rape kit was hidden behind the main water boiler. But this was nothing compared to the horror Lewis discovered on opening the main bedroom closet.

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed, just as she walked in the bedroom door. 

“What is it?” she asked; already dreading what she'd see. He pulled the handle wider so she could see the inside of the closet door; plastered top to bottom with photographs of naked men and women in various different positions, some frightening. Terry’s heart beat harder as it became clear from the blank and lifeless stares of some of them, that they were dealing with far more than a serial rapist. She scanned the images, carefully searching them out until she found what she was looking for; Noah, sprawled out and semi-unconscious, just as he'd described to her. 

“Jesus!” Lewis whispered next to her.

***

Luke had never known his eyes to feel so heavy, not even in one of his worst drunken stupors. It were as though they were glued together. He tried to call Noah, but he couldn’t find his voice. Nothing seemed real, like he was floating in some kind of ethereal world. When he finally did get them open, he could barely see a thing. He couldn’t move either; his arms felt tied down somehow. He heard Noah’s voice calling his name, but something was wrong. It was the tone of his voice. He sounded… frightened? And… angry?

He saw the shadow of a person enter the room. It stood silent and terrifying beside the bed. The shadow rested a hand on Luke’s neck. Immediately Luke cringed. He knew instinctively to fear it.

The shadow sat beside him; lifted his head between its hands; licked at Luke’s lips. Luke wanted to pull back from it but he couldn’t. The shadow held his head for a moment. Luke felt it considering him, right in the eyes. Finally it released him and sat waiting.

A while later Luke’s vision cleared enough for him to make out the features of Oliver; quietly sat on the bed. He wanted to know about Noah. He wanted to know where Noah was, but he was so disorientated he couldn't get a word out of his constricted throat. Luke had no idea what Oliver was waiting for, but he was too tired to think about it; feeling sick from the pain in his head. After a time Oliver reached out to smooth Luke’s hair, very gently, over and over. There wasn’t any sound except for Luke’s hoarse breathing.

“Are you feeling a bit better?” Oliver asked in an almost polite, caring tone. “It’s okay if you want to struggle. I like it that way.” Luke experienced a few earth shattering minutes, as Oliver ran a hand between his thighs, Luke completely powerless to stop him.

Oliver rose up. For the first time Luke noticed the knife in his hand. Since being stabbed by the colonel, Luke had developed a completely understandable fear of blades. His eyes must have shown this, because Oliver’s face shone with glee. “Yes,” he said, “I noticed your scar… I see that you are well-acquainted with one of these… and a bullet too, if I'm not mistaken? Quite the little survivor, hey? Are you a fighter, like Noah?”

Luke closed his eyes; tried to swallow back the anxiety, desperate not to give in to what Oliver wanted.

“You know, I never intended for this. It was just supposed to be Noah. He’s kind of special. But then you know that, don’t you?”

Luke’s eyes widened in horror…

_What's he done to Noah?_

“Usually once I’ve had ‘em that’s it, I move on to the next. But Noah? Wow! I just had to have him again.”

Luke was beyond being able to control his emotions after that; he wished he could speak the torrent of words behind his paralyzed tongue; tears fell, despite his not wanting them too.

“I wasn’t expecting for you to be in the picture, but since you’re here…” Oliver crawled to press an unwelcome weight on top of him. "Let's see how hard you fight..."


	6. Chapter 6

Noah’s blood ran cold. He watched Oliver turn and head down the hallway.

“I’ll be back soon…”

For a while Noah was silent... the drug swarmed like mist through his head, his mouth utterly dry... but as Oliver left the room, he found from somewhere deep inside himself the power to shout, “No! Leave him alone! Luke!” and then quieter as all the air flew from his lungs, “Luke… please…”

His head flopped forward; chin bobbing on chest. He sobbed helplessly; images of Oliver hurting Luke flashed through his mind; mingled with memories of his own. It caused an almost deadly surge of adrenaline; so strong he’d never thought it possible. He struggled violently in the chair; heaving... yanking... pulling at the ropes until his skin broke and bled. His movements were so aggressive he eventually toppled the chair; landed sideways with a loud “Oof!”. Facing the front door, his eyes fell level with the shattered telephone Luke had thrown across the room only hours before. If not for the situation, he would have laughed at Luke’s unfortunate timing.

A wave of nausea hit him like a freight train; he had to close his eyes. Breathing deeply, he gasped. “You are not going to pass out, damn it!” He fought back control, only the thought of what was going on in the bedroom keeping him conscious. But he had to accept his uselessness; the despair dragging at him like an anchor... pulling him down. He kept his eyes closed; tried to retreat to some dim place within... somewhere where there was nothing but an aching grey blankness, and where Oliver’s muffled voice was no more then a faint drum. He had to do that… to cope…

***

Maddie and Jonathan pulled up to the house utterly depleted. They didn’t even have the strength to remove their luggage from the car; decided they would do that after a good nights sleep. It was Jonathan who first caught the look of warning on Noah’s face. Maddie unlocked and opened the door to the sight of Noah bound to the chair. Jonathan was fast enough to place a hand over Maddie's mouth, stifling her scream.

Hope rose at the sight of help. Noah wheezed; swallowed; tried to calm himself. His fear for Luke consumed him. He gestured for Jonathan to approach, which of course Jonathan was already in the process of doing.

“He’s in the bedroom…” Noah whispered, as Jonathan struggled with his bonds. Noah watched Maddie as she stood by the door; her hands covering her mouth. “Get Maddie out of here. It’s not safe for her. And call the police.”

As Jonathan removed Noah’s bonds... helped him up... he nodded... watched briefly as Noah crept toward the hallway... before turning to shove a reluctant Maddie back outside.

***

Terry couldn’t remove her amazed gaze from the discovery inside of the second cupboard door. As well as photographs from his night with Noah, Oliver had pictures of Noah from newspaper clippings, nights out and from the studio. In some of them they even smiled together arm-in-arm, like old friends. Some had clearly been taken from a distance. Most were of Noah in his swimsuit lying on the beach or swimming in the ocean… Jogging down the boulevard. 

“Guys gone from one-offs to stalking…” she said to Lewis, as he came back to stand beside her.

“I’ve put out an arrest warrant for him,” he informed her. "We have to get this guy off the streets."

“Good. Better send someone over to keep an eye on Noah Mayer. I think he might be in danger.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

***

“Get your filthy hands off of him!”

Oliver froze over Luke’s body for a second; unable to believe his ears. As his head turned slowly toward Noah’s direction, he stealthily positioned the knife against Luke's pulsing neck. “Hello Noah,” he said calmly, smiling as his hand fastened tightly on the handle, “welcome to the party.” Oliver moved his partly turned body; the knife coming into Noah’s horrified view. “You might want to take a step back, unless of course you’ve had enough of this one?”

Luke’s weak and fearful eyes locked with Noah’s; Noah let out a long sigh of resignation, taking one step back as instructed.

As the knife relaxed slightly off his throat, Luke tried to sit up. Oliver placed a hand on his chest; shoved him flat again, quickly replacing the blade.

“Luke!” Noah held out both hands; placated Oliver; hoped the gesture would let Oliver know they were going to play by his rules. "Stay down, okay?"

Oliver gestured toward a bag near the door. “There are some cuffs in the front pocket. I suggest you very slowly take them out; cuff yourself to the bedpost. Nicely does it…” Oliver pressed the knife a little harder into Luke’s neck; beading blood; solidifying his point. The smile hadn't left Oliver’s features since Noah’s arrival; it broadened... enough to show one gold tooth... as Noah bent unsteadily to lift the cuffs from the bag.

“Well now, that’s better.” His emotionless eyes followed Noah across the room. He knelt up, used his free hand to undo the button on his jeans. “Your tolerance for drugs is impressive, Noah. You'd make a good navy SEAL. I was busy removing my belt when you arrived, honey. I hope you don’t mind while I finish up here before I attend to you? But I have to say, we'll enjoy the audience. Won't we, Luke?”

Noah’s face burned red with a fury that even Luke seemed to shy away from. His high temples pulsated; his hands shook with the bubbling emotions within.

Out of nowhere, a strange ginger-haired man arrived huffing in the doorway. His unexpected appearance startled Oliver, giving Luke time to drive a knee viciously into Oliver’s chest. Oliver elicited a bizarre fand surprised yelp, just as Noah launched himself at him, driving a fist hard into Oliver's stomach.

Luke released a muffled scream from behind the gag in his mouth; fearful of the knife still in Oliver’s hand. But Oliver didn’t stand a chance. As he made a blind swipe at Noah with the knife, Noah expertly jumped back, the blade missing him by inches. There was a dull crunching sound as Noah’s other fist splintered the shocked Italian’s nose. A fine spray of blood spattered Luke’s chest and face. Oliver’s eyes rolled back in his head. He dropped with a heavy thud to the floor on the other side of the bed.

***

As fast as a flash Noah was over Oliver, raining fist after fuming fist down on him; lost in hysteria. He felt the man's jawbone crack under his knuckles; enjoyed it even. Strong arms tried to pull him off Oliver; but Noah pushed back hard; didn’t even look as something loud crashed behind him. He thought he would never be able to stop, the rage all-consuming, but a desperate voice was pleading; calling his name, and eventually it entered his consciousness. “Noah, stop! Stop, baby! Noah!”

Noah turned his head. The look in Luke’s petrified eyes... the abject terror at how Noah was behaving... immediately stilled him. He dropped heavily to the floor; let out a wail of gut-wrenching pain, that perhaps he'd been holding inside for months.

They all sat in a shocked silence for a few minutes, until Noah turned his head to notice Jonathan on the floor, half covered in books that had fallen from the dresser as he was thrown into it.

“Sorry…” Noah said with earnestness. Eyes clearing, he crawled across the floor to grab the knife; stumbled up on the bed to cut Luke loose of the ropes; pull the gag from his head. He pulled Luke up onto his knees; adrenaline masking the effects of the drug. Luke tried to throw shaky arms around him, but Noah kept pushing him back to look him over; checking every part of him. He ran his hands along Luke's legs; down his arms; pressed to feel the bones beneath Luke's skin. He spent time wiping blood from Luke's cheeks and his chest. Terror rushed his blood until he could barely breath.

Luke grabbed Noah's shoulders. “It's not mine. Noah, it's not mind. I’m not hurt. I’m not...”

Noah let out a sob; wheezed as he tried to draw breath; clung to the other man as his limbs relaxed and the pulse of adrenaline drained quickly.

In the distance they could hear the sound of approaching police sirens.

***

They took the rest of the week off, but on Wednesday Luke was called in for an emergency meeting. He reluctantly agreed to attend. Of course as he had expected, the meeting ran over, and he didn’t return home until well after 11:00 PM. The house was dark and empty. He assumed Maddie must have taken Jonathan out for a night on the town. He knew Noah hadn’t gone with them, because he would have left a note. But Luke wasn’t worried, he knew exactly where Noah was.

The night was slightly chilled and the sea air bracing, so he quickly grabbed a blanket from the linen closet before leaving the house. He walked the few miles downhill; removed his shoes at the edge of the sand; scanned the distance until he found the lone figure sitting in the darkness.

His skin grew quickly wet and salty; the breeze blowing soft droplets of water off the waves. He was glad he brought the blanket when he noticed how Noah hugged his arms into himself; shivered slightly. Noah sensed his presence; turned his neck just as Luke was wrapping the blanket round his shoulders. “Hey…” Noah smiled softly.

“Thought I’d find you here…”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize how long I’d been out here for.”

Luke sat sideways; waited for Noah to flatten his legs; laid on his back with his head in Noah’s lap. Noah leaned back on one arm; briefly used the other to play with Luke’s hair as it blew softly in the wind; bent to kiss him lightly on the forehead.

“You okay?” Luke asked; trying to read him through the darkness.

“Yes,” he replied. “You?” 

Luke smiled up at him in answer.

“You look so sexy in that suit, you know?" Noah smiled. "But not entirely beach appropriate.”

Luke chortled, “I was too impatient to change…”

“Impatient for what?”

“To see you, of course. What else?”

Noah laughed. “I missed you too.”

He sat up to steal a probing... slightly-upside-down... kiss from Luke's mouth. Luke moved onto his knees; their kiss rotating the right way up; arms coming to wrap around each other. Luke skirted forward, crossed his legs over Noah’s thighs. They held each other up in that seated position, all the while never once interrupting the kiss. When they pulled apart, Noah threw his head back for a moment. Luke felt rather than saw the tears through the dimness.

“Hey,” Luke said softly, pulling their foreheads together, “why do you tell me you’re okay when you’re not, hmm?” He cupped Noah’s ears in his hands. "I thought we didn't do that anymore."

“I’m sorry, I just… This whole thing has me really freaked.”

“Well Noah, it’s understandable…”

“No. Not just because of what he did… I mean that was bad, yes, but... I’m more afraid of what it means for us.” He pulled back. “I’m so afraid of losing you again… These things keep happening. I’m so scared that something will cause us to drift apart, and we won’t even know its happening. Like before…”

“Noah... Even after that bastard…” Luke paused, not wanting to spoil the moment with talk of Oliver. "We are still right here. Nothing has changed. I’m not going anywhere, and I really hope you aren’t planning to check out anytime soon…”

“No way...” Noah replied, shaking his head.

“I love you. I always did, even back then when you thought I didn’t. I’m sorry if I every made you think otherwise.”

Noah hugged him, as Luke continued. “We can’t live the rest of our lives afraid, okay?”

Noah nodded; clutched Luke in for warmth. Luke felt how uneven Noah’s breathing was. He knew the man's trembling was from fear as much as from cold.

“God you’re warm,” Noah snuggled closer, sighing. “It feels so good to hold you…” His right hand spread out flat against Luke’s back, caressing him slowly, feeling its way in the dark. The skin under the shirt answered with small vibrations.

Luke felt as the fear began to vanish, bit by bit, and he smiled into Noah’s neck.

***

“You guys, I'm sorry, but this color is so gay!” Maddie announced.

They were all dressed in identical white jumpsuits, busily running paint rollers up and down three corners of the living room.

“It’s not gay!” Luke exclaimed. “Its metallic sky blue…”

“It is kind of gay, Luke!” Noah agreed.

“Oh come _on,_ ” Luke exclaimed, “aren't you supposed to side with me here? Anyway what does it matter? After all…” he ran a hand down his body, clearly reminding them both that he was in fact gay, and it was therefore a mute point.

“Okay...” Maddie relented. “So long as you like the color, that’s all that matters. You’re the ones who have to live with it.”

“Oh, yeah?” Luke asked; quickly darted over to dab a spot of paint on her cheek. “Now so do you!”

She squealed; chased after him around the room until he took shelter behind Noah’s larger frame. He laughed; held Noah’s sides; moved him from side-to-side to block Maddie out of the way..

“Hey!” Noah complained. “You guys leave me out of this one! I’m getting enough of this stuff on me all by myself, thanks very much!”

“Okay truce?” Luke suggested.

“Fine! But behave yourself.” She returned to her wall with mock annoyance.

Luke stretched up to kiss Noah on his nose. “Thanks for saving me babe…”

Noah smiled. “Anytime...”

“Hey, guys?” Jonathan said from the doorway, wiping his hands on a yellow cloth. “I’ve fixed the leaky pipe in the kitchen, and you had a small one in the bathroom. I’ve sorted that too.”

“Thanks so much Jonathan, it’s really nice of you,” said Noah.

“It’s no problem.” He was just about to leave the room again when he said, “Oh and I fixed your bathroom door too. Looks like it was kicked in or… something…” his words cut off awkwardly as he noticed the look that past between the two men.

But Luke smiled at him and said, “You’re really handy to have around, you know? Are you sure you don’t want to move in?”

“Thanks for the offer, but…” Jonathan looked over at Maddie; smiled as he left to find another job to do.

Remaining by Noah’s side to help him paint his wall, Luke asked, “So Maddie, what’s with this Jonathan guy? I thought you were living with a Bruce?”

“Oh,” said Maddie, mischievous grin on her face, “Jonathan’s not my boyfriend, he’s my son.”

Of course both Luke and Noah completely froze mid-stroke at that, turning at the same time to stare at her, until Noah said, “Okay, now _this_ is a story I’ve got to hear!”

And Luke, standing mouth agape, could do nothing but agree, “Same here...”


End file.
